Sued MTB instructor loses case and is expected to pay over £3million

Last month we brought you the news of an MTB instructor being sued by his paralysed client. Yesterday the judge ruled in favour of the paralysed rider.

The incident happened in 2012 when Asif Ahmed was left paralysed after going over the bars on the Barry Knows Best trail in the Surrey Hills during a £79 beginners’ skills course.

The MTB instructor was Leon MacLean, from Norwich, and according to the BBC the High Court Judge ruled Mr MacLean was 80% to blame for the accident.

The judge also stated that Mr MacLean was negligent in “encouraging” Mr Ahmed to ride “at speed” down a sharp slope without properly assessing Mr Ahmed’s bike handling ability. The judge also said that Mr Ahmed “should have been warned” against taking the most difficult route down the slope.

In a tiny bit of positive news for Mr MacLean the court did hear that there was “no reason to believe” Mr MacLean was not a competent mountain bike instructor. Mr MacLean is still leading courses currently.

The exact amount of compensation has yet to be decided but Mr Ahmed’s claim was fro £4million and the expected amount is predicted to be more than £3million.